DETECTION OF SERUM IMMUNOGLOBULIN-M TO HUMAN CYTOMEGALOVIRUS BY WESTERN BLOTTING CORRELATES BETTER WITH VIROLOGICAL DATA THAN DETECTION BY CONVENTIONAL ENZYME-IMMUNOASSAY

Western blotting (immunoblotting) with proteins separated from purifie d human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) particles (viral WB) has repeatedly bee n shown to be a reliable and sensitive method for detecting HCMV-speci fic immunoglobulin M (IgM). The aim of the present work was to determi ne whether IgM detected by viral WE correlates with virological diagno sis better than conventional enzyme immunoassay (conv-EIA). The presen ce of an active HCMV infection was documented on the basis of isolatio n of virus from urine and/or saliva and on the basis of antigenemia an d/or PCR with polymorphonuclear leukocytes for immunocompetent and imm unocompromised subjects, respectively. The agreement observed between IgM detected by viral WB and the results obtained by virological detec tion of HCMV was significantly higher (88.7%) than the agreement of Ig M detected by conv-EIA and virological results (67.5%).